Nearly 1,000 Protesters Rally in Halifax Against Proposed AI Data Centre in Cape Breton
Around 1,000 people marched in downtown Halifax on Saturday to demand a moratorium on large-scale AI data centre proposals in Nova Scotia, focusing on a $10-billion Everwind Fuels project in Point Tupper leased to U.S. company Anthropic. Protesters raised concerns over water usage, power rates, and transparency, while the company and provincial officials say regulatory guidelines and closed-loop cooling systems will mitigate risks.
Nearly 1,000 people gathered at noon in front of the provincial legislature in downtown Halifax on Saturday before marching through the city's core to protest a proposed AI data centre in southern Cape Breton. The rally was one of seven protests held across Nova Scotia that day, with demonstrators calling for a moratorium on all large-scale AI data centre proposals in the province.
The protests centred on plans announced by Everwind Fuels to lease a data centre in Point Tupper, N.S., to U.S. AI company Anthropic. Everwind describes the initiative as a $10-billion investment, the largest private investment in provincial history. Anthropic has signed a 20-year lease for the 18,600-square-metre facility, which is intended to power its AI assistant, Claude. The data centre is expected to come online in 2027, drawing 95 megawatts of electricity in its first phase. A 325-megawatt expansion is scheduled for mid-2028, bringing total energy demand to 420 megawatts.
Ned Zimmerman, a tech worker from Dartmouth and a rally organizer, stated that large-scale AI data centres are socially destructive and environmentally irresponsible. Zimmerman criticized the provincial government for sparse communication and Everwind for lacking transparency and community consultation prior to the announcement. Fellow protest organizer Ashley Drodge raised concerns about the lack of binding regulations and the absence of an environmental impact assessment.
Rebecca Lawrence, a protester from Dartmouth, expressed concern about noise pollution and the impact on the local water supply. Water from Landrie Lake, which supplies Port Hawkesbury, will be used to cool the servers, with an average draw of 100,000 litres per day in the first phase. That usage is expected to expand to an average draw of 500,000 litres per day in the next phase. Everwind claims the cooling system will be closed-loop, recycling fluid or disposing of it off-site rather than discharging it into local waterways.
Everwind states it will cover the cost of all electricity infrastructure and that the project will not increase power rates for customers. The company held two information sessions in Cape Breton earlier in the week, though some attendees reported outstanding questions following those events. A petition on Change.org to stop AI data centre development in Nova Scotia has garnered nearly 28,000 signatures.
Premier Tim Houston’s office stated the data centre will only proceed if it meets provincial and federal guidelines regarding water, environment, power rates, and capacity. Houston previously said he did not know if new legislation was needed, but his office later stated openness to legislative changes if required. Nova Scotia’s Minister of Environment, Timothy Halman, stated that industrial approval, not an environmental impact assessment, is the appropriate regulatory tool for this project.